An air supply system associated with a vehicle cabin may include a filtration system. The filtration system may include a contaminated air stream conduit fluidly connecting an air contaminated air stream to a filter assembly, and a filtrate stream conduit fluidly connecting a purified air stream to the vehicle cabin. The filter assembly may be configured to preclude passage of solid, gaseous and aerosol contaminants of the contaminated air stream, and in doing so, provide the purified air stream to the vehicle cabin.
One cabin filter assembly design is described by US 2014/0013941 to Stinzendoerfer et al. (the '941 publication). As seen there, the '941 publication describes a cabin filter assembly including a combination of a cellulosic and synthetic foam filtration material impregnated with activated carbon or an ion-exchange resin. The cellulosic and synthetic foam filtration materials may be used to filter solid particulates, while the activated carbon or ion-exchange resin may be used to remove gaseous contaminants. Further, the '941 publication describes a sealing element disposed around the circumference of the filtration materials comprising a polyurethane foam.
Importantly, the '941 publication describes its filter assembly including cellulosic materials and synthetic foams, such as polyurethane foams. After use, the '941 publication filter assembly may be placed in a landfill where it takes up considerable volume. Further, due to its use of cellulosic and synthetic foams, the volume occupied by this filter assembly will not diminish for years. Accordingly, a need exists to provide a cabin air filter assembly that precludes solid, gaseous and aerosol contaminants of the air contaminated air stream from passing through its filtration material, while utilizing materials that more easily degrade when the filter assembly is placed in a landfill.
The present disclosure is directed to overcoming one or more problems set forth above and/or other problems associated with the prior art.